Modern consumers have become accustomed to the safety and convenience of making purchase transactions at remote points of sale using credit cards instead of cash. Credit cards allow a consumer to make purchases on credit accounts in which a credit card issuing institution records purchases to a consumer's account and then sends a monthly billing statement to the consumer. If the consumer elects not to pay off the entire balance of the account at the end of the billing cycle, then the credit card issuing institution typically collects interest on the outstanding balance on the account.
In response to the success of credit cards, banking institutions such as banks and credit unions have developed debit cards which can be used just like credit cards to make purchases. However, unlike credit cards, the purchases are immediately posted to the consumer's checking account as if the consumer had written a check. Therefore, the consumer is not required to pay a monthly statement because the funds to cover the purchase are taken immediately and directly from the consumer's checking account.
Debit card accounts have drawbacks when compared to normal credit card accounts. There may be more than one cardholder drawing on an account such as in a joint checking account. With present debit account systems, using two debit cards for one account can result in overdrafts when both users unknowingly make debit transactions during the same time period. Because both cards draw upon the same account just like checks, two users may inadvertently draw upon the same funds resulting in an overdraft.
In addition, the typical debit account user loses interest compared to a credit card user. Because debit card transactions are posted to the checking account in the same way as checks, a user can expect the checking account to be drawn upon within a few days of the debit transaction. Credit card accounts, on the other hand, allow the user to keep funds in an interest bearing account until the end of a billing cycle before they are needed to pay the credit card bill. By waiting until the end of the month to pay a credit card bill, the credit card user receives interest on the funds for the remaining period of the billing cycle. Current debit card systems employed by banks, however, immediately debit the checking account just like a check would be debited. Therefore, a current debit card user does not receive the added interest he might have gained by keeping the funds in the interest bearing account for the remainder of a billing period.